Pista House Indian cuisine
| Address: | 2316 Hunters Woods Plaza, Reston, VA 20191, USA |
| Phone: | +1 703-429-1931 |
| Site: | pistahousevirginia.com |
| Rating: | 3.2 |
| Working: | Closed 11:30AM–3PM 11:30AM–3PM 11:30AM–3PM 11:30AM–3PM 11:30AM–3PM 11:30AM–3PM |
Location
Photos 100
Reviews 6
LA
Larissa Fuqua
I have eaten at Pista House several times now and will try to be as constructive as possible. Firstly, we really enjoy the food, the quantity, and the prices. I like the heat of it (they have never once asked us how spicy we want it, and it usually comes out perfect for me and spicy for my husband. Welp, thats one way to crank up his spice tolerance!). I am hugely partial to the fresh lime and mint drink-- it is amazingly refreshing on a hot day... muddled mint, fresh squeezed lime, a little sugar and YES a little salt. It hits the spot better than a lassi, IMO. The happy hour menu is a great value, but it can be a little confusing. The servers are usually really friendly and can answer most questions we throw at them. Yesterday, they offered me a container of extra rice to take home with my leftovers. Now for some constructive feedback: The decor is a bit disjointed. They have lovely contemporary tables and booths, but there is this strange blue LED stripe along the bar and ambient blue LED lighting along the entire perimeter of the ceiling. The blue is not inviting. It makes me feel like Im sitting in a club, rather than a quality restaurant. A restaurant should be inviting, comfortable, and even cozy... so warm tone lighting would be a massive improvement. Replace the blue with a soft amber color and put a votive on the table when your guests sit down and it will be a much more inviting experience. Ive been a few times where they did not seat us for dinner even though they were past their posted opening hours. Turns out they have a lunch buffet and were scrambling to clean up afterward. Id recommend either changing your buffet hours or your dinner hours. A customer should never be left waiting after opening hours unless its actually really busy. The menu does not have descriptions for items. Because Indian cuisine is so regional, I usually rely on descriptions of unfamiliar items. At Pista, I find myself having to ask the waiter, or googling it on my phone. Please consider reprinting menus with descriptions for those unfamiliar with Hyderabadi specialties! While the front of house staff is always friendly, the front of house always seems disorganized. Diners should never really get a whiff of confusion or pandemonium while they are there, yet at Pista, this has been a regular theme. Hustle is ok, but chaos is not. Id really love to see some improvements at this spot, because I think the food is great and theyve got so much potential.
VI
Vivek Kv
Had been here the other day for dinner along with some friends. Located next to Reston community center, this one can be found very easily on the stretch. Theres no valet parking for the restaurant as you have plenty of parking available in the complex area. The first thing you will see when after entering the restaurant is, the different yellow lit ambience with a bar counter opposite to the entrance. They have multiple range of lights setup (Not sure if they use them all) So coming to the food, we have ordered some butter naan, Chicken tikka masala along with some appetizers, one was chilly chicken, Salmon tikka which was told to be spicy, although it was not and the meat was out of quality. After roti, it was time for some rice item. But this time we ordered regular boneless chicken biryani and asked them to make it spicy(we got more cloves). Also, its PISTA HOUSE and we were not going to leave the place without having the traditional dum biryani. It will taste better only in some specific restaurants. The quantity was fine, but the taste was expected to be more better though. The worst part was the extra long straw that came with mango lassi. ( not sure if they were out of actual ones ) Can visit this place if you are with your family who doesnt want to travel places to eat and those who stay nearby community center. Otherwise, just try to avoid it. Go for another 2 to 3 miles and there are better restaurants in Sterling and Herndon. Finally, I would only go to this place just to get served by that beautiful waitress, but not for the food they have. m/
JU
Junaid Azghar
Had been to pista house today with my extended family of 12 people . I would rate them 3 stars for the food . All starters and biryani were excellent in taste . The naan was amazingly soft and tender . Qurbani ka meet ha was par excellence but kaddu ki kheer was below expected standard . It could be far better if it is made more thicker and dense . In terms of ambience their a/c was out of order and the fans were not good enough causing the children to become restless . The most frustrating part was the delay in serving the food order . It took 15 mins after the starters to get the naan and almost a wait of 10 to 20 minutes before biryani could be served with rest of the main course. Looked like they were under staffed in their kitchen to cater to a 60% full seating capacity in prompt and timely manner . Despite all these inconvenience the guy ended up charging a 15% auto gratuity despite telling him about the delay in food serving and airconditioni ng not working. I felt they did not deserve 15% gratuity for such a substandard service.
IR
Irfan Ali
Hmmm...this was my first visit at this place...i from hyderabad, Bashir Bagh....bhai log yahan saari cheeze bahut mahengi...OVER PRICED...quantitybek dum kum hai ...do do order mangana padta aur phir kahin say bhi hyderabadi taste nahi hai...12 dollars do chmach haleem dera yaaro....so nakku aao ek aadmj kay liye 5 order haleem karna padta...biryani aur koi bhi ghost ka item zarra bhi acha nahi hai....hyderabad ka naam badnaam karra yaarooo...!!!
EL
Eliot Gerson
Consistency could be improved (sometimes a dish will be amazing, then the next time it will be merely good), but in general, the food is very good and, contrary to what some posters are saying, the portions are decent for the price. The boneless chicken biryani is a treat, and the vegetable samosas are fantastic. The butter chicken is also very good. The naan is subpar, but its hardly the end of the world. The chicken 65 is average--but thats by no means a bad thing. An average chicken 65 is still a perfectly good option. Aloo gobi is ok. UPDATE: Ive revised my rating from 4 stars to 3 because the experience is just so inconsistent. A dish might randomly be sweet or salty, mild or spicy--even green vs yellow--depending on what day you ordered it. Consistency is key for a restaurant, and this one is lacking. (for reference, I live nearby and have ordered food from here about a dozen times or so, so the sample size is pretty decent.)
ME
Mekala Murali
Having seen a long wait one time turned back, wanted to treat family for a returned dinner. Couldnt understand the hype at all. Chicken 65, soggy and soulless. Not fresh. ** Haleem, decent, am not a big fan. $12.00 way too expensive for a 6oz like serving. *** Garlic naan. Only savior, decent. **** Gongura mutton, more a mutton soup with large bones filling more than half of the serving. No salt. * Biryani, a big joke. Plain basmati rice sprinkled over chicken curry, saltless, spiceless. Not a biryani, even by Indian street vendor standards.* So many waiters running around like headless chicken, leaving the customers unattended. Wasted valuable family time and $60.00 . Am not a foodie myself and would eat whatever I find when hungry. Its very easy to please me. And, if Im complaining, this place should be trash. Beware, too many 5* reviews and 40+ reviews in such a short time it opened, they should be phony.
